Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-09
DAILY HERALD.
THE NEW CHARTER.
A Bnnger an he Avoided TN Pav'
ing the streets,

ing the Streets,
ENRON HERALp-The matter OF paw
ing the streets Of Los Angelica involves
millions of dollars, as the city is to ex-
tend from the Sierra Madres TO the sea,
the matter OF paving the streets for the
ase OF a million people becomes serious
question. The subject will come up to-
morrow for the consideration Of the City
Council. A large number Of plans have
been proposed for street psvenents, but
the people should know beforehand
what they will have to pay for and what
il viii cost and how long it will last,
The City Charter gives the Council
authority to pave and improve streets
hui unfortunately Section 10 of page 40
Of the Revised Charter of Los Angeles
has this peculiac and provoking pro.
vision. which says;
~Whenever any street or part thereoi
has been graded or otherwise iiaprov ed
Ht the expense of the owners Of the real
estate fronting thereon, and the same
hsa beea accepted by the Council. and
she same shall require any repairs 60 be
made thereon ut any time, the Council
shall order such repairs to be made: any
snaterial required in such repairs to be
only OF the same nature and kind as
previously used, and pay the slme out
Of the general fund"
This provision must he aDbulled OIL
else there eau be no improvement here
sftsr on the pavements that may be
adopted by the City Council, except by
= genera, tax, so that the whole people
must bear the burden instead of the
property holders whose property hs'
been improved.
This most unfortunate condition il
full of danger, aud can only be avoided
by the utmost caution. Plans will b.
presented to the Council tomorrow TO
paving Main and Spring streets. Thes'
plans must be investigated most pro
foundly. Should a cheap kind b.
adopted that would soon wear oat, th,
people OF the city weuld have tore
place the same with something better a
their own expense.
According to this unfortunate provis
aou, if ,he city accepts a gravel pave
ment sEd necessity arises for a stone
brick or asphaltum pavement after
wards. the owners of the property bene
& ted aligning the improvement, are no
required to pay for the improvement
themselves, but will only pay theil
share out OF the taxes that 20 into th,
general fund, while person two mile
away may be more heavily taxed for III,
improvement than the owner of til,
property benefited. This condition
should cause the utmost caution
in ordering the new pavements
They should be of SUCH ma
teriai and so made as to be durabl
in the extreme and not have to be mad
over in few months at the expense o
the city.
Whether the new pavement is to b
brick, stone or asphaltum, it must b
thicker than the specimens now pu
down. Los Angeles will soon BIZ tn
largest city in California. The travel o
the streets is great and the loads o
merchandise are heavy and continuous
No pavement OF less depth than eight
cen inches can -be trusted under tn,
tremendous burden that is daily pa:sin,
along our business streets. A thin crus
of asphaltum will expand at noon ant
yield under load of 10000 pounds. A
depth Of eighteen inches with a mixiur,
OF granite and lime. or sand Will
asphaltum will last for ages. Los Ange
lea must be the best paved city il
Anerica and our invaluable asphaltum
must be combined with onr matchlesi
granite and diamond lime that will
be nearly indestructible, impervi.
Gus to water, not expanded
by heat and hardly resonant from pass.
ing wheels. Such a combination as will
shut of the impurities that now arise
from the polluted earth and give a
smooth, enduring surface that can be
cleansed daily, is what the city must
have. 1t is also well to bear in mind
that until "Section 10" is annulIed, a
change of pavement must be made from
the funds of the whole people All these
questions should be discussed by the
City Council tomorrow. 1t may be pos
sible that some of the members have not
read this peculiar section. The city
must be paved and no mistakes made.
A cheap thin pavement might be paimed
off under this unfortunate section by the
holders OF local property, and new and
expensive one put in its place at the ex'
pense OF the people. @.